An Online Symposium on Agricultural Animals and Animal Law

Posted by April Nockleby, ALDF's Online Content Manager on April 11, 2008

The Michigan Law Review’s companion journal First Impressions this week published an online symposium on agriculture animals and agriculture law. Be sure to check out this insightful debate and read what the experts say about the laws that protect farm animals.

Here’s a summary of what you’ll find:

The Humane Society of the United States’ Vice President of Government Relations Nancy Perry and Senior Attorney Peter Brandt decry the inadequacy of USDA regulations in protecting animals from abuse. Highlighting the recent media coverage of abuse at the Hallmark Meat Packing plant in California, they argue that states should enforce their animal cruelty laws against the agricultural animal industry, and that protecting animals requires a new and robust federal framework.

University of Michigan Harry Burns Hutchins Professor of Law Joseph Vining identifies a particular advantage of criminal sanctions: that a corporation will regulate agricultural practices if it is liable as an entity itself. Corporations have methods and resources that public agencies lack, which will lead to better protections for farmed animals.

Angela J. Geiman, Senior Lawyer for Cargill Meat Solutions Corp, supports applying science-based regulations to the animal agriculture industry. She agrees with approaches that allow academic and industry experts to decide what the definition of a “humane” practice is.

Animal rights attorney and President of the Center for the Expansion of Fundamental Rights Steven M. Wise likens current agricultural animal practices to human slavery, arguing that economic interests that perpetuated the institution of slavery resemble the contemporary industry opposition to animal rights. He argues that animals have fundamental rights based on the practical autonomy that they possess as beings, rather than as things.

Professor Neil D. Hamilton, Director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake Law School, suggests that litigation cannot address concerns about animal cruelty in agricultural settings. The divide between animal rights and animal welfare is a broader cultural phenomenon that a judicial decision cannot decide.

Colorado State University Professor of Philosophy, Animal Sciences and Biomedical Sciences Bernard Rollin catalogs five factors that demonstrate the necessity of shifting to a framework that recognizes animal rights. People now think of animals as having rights as a result of these five changes.

Clark County Commissioners are meeting on Wednesday, March 4 to consider revoking the zoning permits for Keith Evans to house exotic animals. ALDF needs your help to make sure the interests of these and other animals are protected! Read More »

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